The speculative lesson of Aristophanes

Aristophanes, an ancient comedy writer(b.Ch.445-385), that written the Clouds, a very famous comedy and it is famous because one of role is Socrates; he has used the speculative inquiry and certainly he has seen and known Socrates, but his inquiry is extended also to other not personages but character, some step is going to explain the meaning, a soliloquy of Strepsiade, father of Fidippide, that during the night is awake for the debts, and he remembers his life before of marry: “I brought in campaign a bless life, with ugly cloths, laid, and rich of bees, sheep. After I am resident in campaign have married a resident in the city…woman delicacy, luxurious, she was every delicateness, and luxury, perfume, smell of a thousand essences and fire of luxury…”; the right question is: “What is speculative inquiry”, simple in the narration of Strepsiade, he told that he wife was a rich woman that has married a poor; it is normal, a woman searches always somebody or very much rich or somebody that she can subdue, because it is a revenge of female sex against hers weakness, hence I want the domain or through the beauty or through the richness. The speculative attention of Aristophanes is in this particular, when Fidippide after an indication of his father he describes summary Socrates and he mentioned him: “The miserable I know them. Do you want hint to these charlatan without shoes on feet, among is also Socrates and Cherophontes”, Aristophanes has certainly seen and studied Socrates, because Cicero, for example, called Socrates “pedes rudes”, this is barefoot, but Cicero known it from some narration instead Aristophanes, contemporary of Socrates, seen him during his investigation. The investigation is confirmed from the words of Socrates to the clouds, he speaks to clouds as goods; this is a hide polemic against the Sophistic members, that spoke about everything without logic arguments, and the Socrates is took for reference, but the object of this polemic are the sophistic school, that Aristophanes has seen. The clouds answer, and the polemic is clear: the sophistic school of nothing that, as the clouds, are alone air, this is nothing, the question is, why Socrates? Because Socrates was the eminent personage in Athens but he was also impotent, this is without power, hence he could took very easy model of philosopher. The confirm of this my opinion is in the words of Socrates: “The clouds, great goddess  of men and they alone give the think, the art of word, the intelligence, imposture, the speech and cunning”, it is the proof that Aristophanes has seen both Socrates and the sophistic school, these words are unworthy of Socrates because, from witnesses, he never has said it; but Socrates is reference to Aristophanes also because he was the eminent personage in Athens, inasmuch Aristophanes has used the figure of Socrates, because the more famous philosopher in Athens, and he has represented the Sophistic school.

Alessandro Lusana    

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